Fewer wage and hour lawsuits will settle in 2013 than last year. According to a survey from NERA economic consulting firm, the total amount of spending on such lawsuits is also set to remain lower than in 2012.

For the first three quarters of 2013, 51 cases settled for roughly $215 million. By the end of the year, NERA estimated 68 cases will have settled, bringing the total to $286 million. In contrast, there were 102 recorded cases in 2012, which settled for $467 million.

The average case settlement per plaintiff increased to $7,000 - a significant increase from $5,800, the average payment during the period between 2007 and 2012.

In general, the size of class action lawsuits has been declining since 2007. In 2013, only 3 percent of all cases had more than 10,000 plaintiffs, compared with 5 percent in 2012.

The majority of the cases in the report included allegations that employees were not compensated for all time worked, including off-the-clock work, unpaid overtime, misclassification and missed rest breaks. For the time period recorded in the survey, 45 percent of claims related to overtime violations.

Almost one-third of all settlement money was paid in the retail industry, according to the report.

Maintaining attendance software can help prevent costly lawsuits by keeping records of employee time.

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